Hexiciah Steam's SDCCI diary
Cover 15 October I ran into an old professor of mine today, who told me that he was getting up a small expedition to explore a section of the catacombs not far from our current location. He told me that after a flooded section of tunnel had been drained to rid the area of a rather serious infestation of vulture-sized mosquitoes, a strange metal hatch was found on the floor of the tunnel. The workers being unable to decipher the intricate locking mechanism that sealed it., had requested someone from the local university to come and investigate. I was intrigued, because from the description it sounded like the work of the Builders. I kept that bit of speculation to myself, as my curiosity trumped my desire to debate the topic. Also, I wasn't expecting Robecca's arrival anytime soon due to some dragon troubles that were interrupting train travel between her location and mine, so I happily volunteered to accompany them. I begged leave only to send Robecca a telegraph informing her of my plans in case the dragon moved on and she arrived before my return. After doing so, I met the team and introductions were made. There were some initial grumblings - I'll not name the miscreant who voiced them - about a 'normie' accompanying the expedition. I declined to explain that my mother was one of Oberon and Titania's people, and my human father was the equal of any monster gathered there; for to the uneducated, revelation is a doorway to knowledge, but to the close-minded, it is a wall that echoes back their prejudice as truth. Regardless, we shouldered our packs, and following one of the workers who originally found the hatch, we proceeded. It was not a long trek, but it was made rather arduous by the presence of the remaining mosquitoes. Here my metal arm came in rather.. handy.. in dispatching the pests, and even drew grudging praise from my one detractor who seemed to be a particular target of the buggers. Once we reached our destination, we set up camp and let the area around the hatch. It was, as I suspected, of Builder design. The metal on the hatch showed no signs of age or corrosion even after years of being underwater. The lock itself was indeed complicated, but not impossible to correctly manipulate, and while I will not say it opened on the first try.. or twentieth.. we eventually found ourselves staring down a shaft into a Builder's tunnel. Tomorrow we will descend and explore. By my gears I wish Robecca were here to see this. 16 October After a few hours of rest, it became evident that no one in the party could sleep in anticipation of what might be below, so it was decided that four of us would descend into the tunnel below while the others would wait in the cavern above in case assistance was needed. One of the monsters produced a deck of cards and spread them out: the four highest cards would make up the first team. I drew the Ace of Vampire Hearts while a gargoyle drew a jack, a werewolf a 10, and a goblin pulled a queen. By lowering a weighted rope and marking the place where it went slack when it hit bottom, we determined that it was one hundred anf fifty feet from hatch to floor. Fortunately, the descent was made less problematic by the discovery of metal ladder rungs imbedded into the wall of the shaft. The gargoyle, being the heaviest, volunteered to test the condition of the rungs by going first. Stepping of the last rung at the bottom, he yelled up assuring us of their soundness and we soon followed. Once we were all down, we moved forward to a chorus of "Good luck!" from above. The shaft room opened into a larger tunnel that ran north and south. A thick coating of trackless dust covered the floor. Whoever the Builders were, it had been ages since their feet had trod the tunnels they created. To the north a faint light pulsated through the open door of a room. We moved in that direction. Before we reached the door I cautioned my comrades that the machinery of the ancients was complicated and unpredictable; that even the most benign appearing artifact might contain unimaginable power. They looked at me quizzically, so I held aloft my left arm and wiggled its mechanical fingers. I assured them that I could fashion one just like it for anyone who desired to allow their curiosity to override my warning. Mutely nodding their assent, we continued. Reaching the room, we peered in to find it empty, save for a transparent hexagonal column in the middle of the room. It stretched from floor to ceiling and was filled with a place blue substance that swirled like coloured oil in water. Around the column were four blue tiles, each with the same complicated design. Cautiously, we entered the room and I noticed my comrades kept their arms closely by their sides. Without speaking, we each made our way to an individual tile so that we could have an unimpeded view of the design. Unfortunately, as it is wont to happen, teachers often make the poorest students. A pint, in retrospect, I would have done well to remember. For when the last of us stepped on his tile, the door behind us slammed shut and a powerful hum vibrated through the room. The column began to glow brighter and brighter as we vainly tried to break free from the powerful force that held us in place. Then the room went dark and I knew no more. "You could come with me, Nora." "Or you could stay, Hexiciah. I believe Monster High benefits from your experience and the students love you." "Just the students, Nora?" "My feelings are irrelevant, and my place is here." "Aye, 'tis futile to argue against a calling, I know, but perhaps one day you will pass the position of headmistress on to someone else." "Perhaps." 17 October? The impact of my body hitting the floor interrupted my dreaming, and I lay there shivering in a room I did not recognise. Once when I was but a lad, I decided to take a shortcut across a pond I believed to be frozen solid. It wasn't, and I fell through the thin ice into the water underneath. The pond itself being barely deep enough to cover the top of my head, and my mates, who had warned me not to cross it, combined to keep something worse from occurring; but the cold, the cold was like the sting of some unliving beast paralyzing my limbs and leeching the warmth from the very core of my being. I could not have been under the ice for more than a few seconds, but it seemed an eternity. I reference this incident from my distant past to describe the sensation of being caught in the Builder's machinery. I do not know if I had been held for a moment or millennia. Somehow, I made it to my feet, and once I steadied myself, tried to stomp and slap some heat back into my limbs. I still cannot believe I allowed myself, or my companions, to fall into such a trap; if trap it were. For all I know, it is possible the machine is some type of advanced transportation system, although I have no desire to book passage on it again. When I felt well enough to move without falling, I went in search of my companions, I found five rooms which formed the crossbar of a 'T' with the stem being a long narrow tunnel that seemed to be the only exit. I located the three of them in separate rooms, floating upright in a column of soft blue light. Their eyes were closed but moved rapidly under the lids. Dreaming. I tried to reach into the light to pull them out, but it was made impenetrable by some unseen barrier. I searched for some switch of control panel, but none was to be found. I did, however, come across a door and a panel of sorts. each having a smooth metallic surface without lock or mechanism to be found. I once thought myself an expert on the Builders, but I now know that all of my knowledge could be equated to a monster who believes being able to read the numbers on the face of his watch makes him an expert on its complex inner workings. I must rest for a moment and then find my way back to the expedition. 18 October? I intended to rest only briefly, but I must have fallen into a slumber, for I awoke with the start of someone who has slept past the time of some vital appointment. Was it the sound of a voice that awakened me? I checked on my companions, finding that their situation remained unchanged. Despite our change in location, my confidence was high that I could find our compatriots... had I known my true situation, I scarce believe confidence would have been the emotion that predominated.. regardless, I followed the narrow tunnel away from the rooms until it opened into, what I assumed, was the same large north-south passage we encountered after our initial descent. The narrow tunnel continued on across this passage, and hoping to find another portal up to the main catacombs, so did I. Upon reaching the end of said tunnel I found, as I had hoped, a vertical shaft which terminated in a metal portal similar to the one from which we descended; except there were no ladder rungs. Only a ghost, or a monster with wings, could reach the portal, and seeing I as neither, I turned t make my way back to the main passage. It was then for a brief moment that I considered I must once again be dreaming, for coming toward me up the tunnel was Robecca. 1 Febuary The last few days have been, should I say, eventful? Robecca's detailing of her unlife both before and after her dismantling filled me at times with both anger and wonder. I shall forever be grateful to those monsters who have watched over her in my absence, and I have apologised to the point of Robecca telling me I would owe her a shopping trip to some place called 'the maul' for each new apology going forward. As for my companions, Robecca was able to find the secret switch, clever ghoul, for the small panel I discovered, and opened it. The controls proved rather uncomplicated, by the Builder's standards at least, and we freed them one at a time. I must say they greeted the news of being in suspended animation for the past one hundred years with equal amounts of skepticism and wonder. We all speculated as to how I was released; I have not the answer. Perhaps the machine did not enjoy the metallic taste in its 'mouth' or that after so many millennia even the Builder's machinery can fail. Regardless, that speculation became quite overwhelmed by two incidents which occurred almost simultaneously. Robecca had been spending considerable time searching for a switch that would open the closed door to the fifth room, and her cry of 'Eureka!' was almost drowned out by a voice calling out her name. The rescue party, summoned by Robecca's tracking device, had arrived. Dracula, an alpha werewolf, Dr Stein and Nora appeared from the mouth of the small tunnel. It was as joyous a reunion as there ever was. Directly, it was increased by several of Robecca's classmates who had insisted on coming, but were told to stay behind until the adults made sure it was safe. It was then that we realised Robecca wasn't there. I turned to lead the group back to the rooms when Robecca appeared with a monster of stunning beauty and royal bearing leaning on her for support. From behind me, I heard a startled cry. Robecca's friend Cleo stepped forward and said something in Ancient Egyptian, a language I never mastered, but I knew enough to understand the word she used. It was... mother. 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